Vertical striped screen - no boot

[Ancestor]

Last night I put my iMac 27 (March 2011) to sleep as usual. This morning I found the computer on with a white screen and not responding. Shutting down and re-starting brought up a striped bluish-white screen and again it would not boot. I am still running OSX 10.6.8 as vital applications won't run on later OSX. Lately, the computer has been a bit slow to respond, such as calling up the Documents folder to save a file, but otherwise I have had no problems. I have run Time Machine, and keep a bootable backup on an external Seagate drive, last backup the usual weekly, last Saturday.
What can I do? The iMac has all my photos in iPhoto and Lightroom and all our financial affairs. Is it possibly the screen failure, or the graphics card responsible? Fortunately I have this new Air bought for a writing project, so I can still communicate.

 

[pm-r]

It seems that I just posted to another user with a similar problem and a similar iMac just the other day.

I wonder if your's is, or was included with the Apple recall, since expired:
Apple opens graphics card replacement program for some mid-2011 iMacs
https://9to5mac.com/2013/08/16/appl...-replacement-program-for-some-mid-2011-imacs/

Bottom line: You'll need to get it repaired — if financially worthwhile to do so, or get another working Mac. Your backup should have all your data you want or need.

EDIT:
It's also possible that something else has gone kaput like the hard drive or whatever.
A good Mac tech may be the best source for hands-on help/fix at this point.


PS: As you may know and if a replacement iMac is part of the future, the 2011 iMac Models were the last one's that could boot and run Mac OS X 10.6.8 and those restricted aps you were using.





- Patrick
======

 

[chscag]

Welcome to our forums.

Is it possibly the screen failure, or the graphics card responsible?

Very likely a graphics card failure. The graphics card in your iMac is removable and replaceable, however, it's a very difficult task. The entire display must first be removed and then the logic board removed to get at the graphics card. Those cards are available on eBay but are quite expensive - usually several hundred dollars. As Patrick recommended it might be best to let an authorized Apple tech do the work for you. Be sure to get an estimate first. An Apple Store genius bar will not look at it as it is too old.

 

[Ancestor]

Thanks Patrick, but things have now moved on! An hour ago I thought I would have one last try; switched on the computer and it sprang to life with everything normal and in place. Now it's even more worrying because I am not sure what caused the symptoms which certainly indicated a GPU failure. Now that I have access to Apple Prefs I can tell you that the GPU is an ATI Radeon HD 5750. The computer was from early 2011, so it was not in the Apple recall that identified the batch of faulty cards.
Now as to reasons - while I was struggling with the shock of finding the screen a mass of vertical lines, I noticed that the "ADSL Sync" light on my modem was red. Then all the other modem lights went to red,began flashing and the modem re-booted itself. I theorise that some interruption overnight - to the power supply or the internet service (or both) confused the computer which would have been woken from Sleep mode. It's connected to an APC battery backup and standby unit, but that battery has not been drained (still green light) so whatever the interruption was, it must have been temporary.
This is the first glitch in six years of running, so it may be worthwhile having it checked professionally. Could a Mac technician test the GPU without replacing it? Meanwhile I'm planning to switch the computer off at night, not Sleep it, and I had better start upgrading the OS and software. If I have a major crash it would be easier to port files to a similar new computer than from one with the OS out of date. Agree? Again, my appreciation for your help.

 

[pm-r]

Thanks Patrick, but things have now moved on!

Glad to read the good news Ancestor and I'm sure you are relieved that it's back up and working.

It seems odd that it didn't sort itself out when you did the shutdown and restart earlier. I guess it needed a longer rest.

I have a mid-2011 27" iMac.

Do check that your backup(s) is/are current and work.




- Patrick
======

 

[pm-r]

… so it may be worthwhile having it checked professionally. Could a Mac technician test the GPU without replacing it?

You can probably do the same thing yourself by running the Apple Hardware Test or something like TechTools Pro which is similar to what the local Apple Techs at least used to use.
But I don't think the displays have any SMARTs to predict any pending failure, like most electronics, they either work or don't work.

Meanwhile I'm planning to switch the computer off at night, not Sleep it,

A bit of controversy over that, but it may depend on your power stability as well.

and I had better start upgrading the OS and software. If I have a major crash it would be easier to port files to a similar new computer than from one with the OS out of date. Agree?

I have a similar situation and to run vital applications [that] won't run on later OSX, I keep various partitions with their own OS X available for just such a thing.
And BYW: Migration Assistant will/can move all your data documents, but be aware that you may not be able to use or open them with a later OS X.

But for some files i.e.: ApleWorks documents, you might want to consider saving them in some other format of as pdfs etc. before they're lost or unusable. The same goes for many financial stuff like Quicken of Mac if you used them or good old Eudora. (But at least a text editor can read the Eudora messages and most importing works quite well, but Mail does a lousy very crude job!!! )

Anyway, good luck and I hope the iMac keeps on working.




- Patrick
======